Well, here we are, back with the Rhythm of War Reread, and it’s starting to get hot up in here. The Avalanche is rolling now, for better and worse. This week: Venli starts out going the wrong direction, but is involuntarily turned around to go where she needs to be. Navani starts out going nowhere in despair, but her prayers are answered and she’s given a hint of direction. Kaladin only has one direction, and it’s pretty much the same direction he’s always had: forward, to protect someone. But as Timbre says, it’s not the speed that matters; it’s the direction. All three are now in motion toward the battle for Urithiru.
Reminder: We’ll be discussing spoilers for the entirety of the series up until now. If you haven’t read ALL of the published entries of The Stormlight Archive (this includes Edgedancer and Dawnshard as well as the entirety of Rhythm of War), best to wait to join us until you’re done.
Heralds: Chana, (Chanarach), Herald of the Common Man. Dustbringers (Division, Abrasion). Brave/Obedient. Role: Guard.
Jezrien (Jezerezeh, Yaezir, Ahu), Herald of Kings. Windrunners (Adhesion, Gravitation). Protecting/Leading. Role: King.
A: I’m honestly a little surprised to see Chana instead of Kelek here, but I’m sure Isaac had his reasons. There are no Dustbringers in evidence, so I’ll assume the role of Guard is the active factor, along with the attributes of Brave and Obedient. In one way or another, all three of our protagonists demonstrate those characteristics in this chapter. Jezrien is probably because of Kaladin’s determination to present as the legendary Windrunner, though Queen Navani might also be represented.
Icon: Double Eye of the Almighty—This is a good sign we’re entering the Avalanche. This week we have POVs from three main characters, all equally important, so rather than using any one of their distinct icons, we’ve got the Double Eye.
Epigraph:
To humans, our very visages become symbols. You find echoes of it even in the art from centuries before this Return.
—Musings of El, on the first of the Final Ten Days
A: Well, there he goes, addressing a question we talked about last week. “What art?” This sounds like he’s talking about contemporary art along with some works from centuries earlier. I’m really curious about that earlier art; put together with last week’s epigraph, it sounds like maybe there are depictions of “demons” or at least fearsome legends which, while not looking exactly like the singers (because hello, near-mindless slaves), still tend toward… well, I’d guess something like carapace, probably with the red-and-black coloration. Um… I don’t think I’m saying this very well. Sigh. Something like “demonic presence in earlier art is often indicated by motifs which reflect some aspect of singer physiology.” (Why is it that when I’m tired I use bigger words?)
Chapter Recap
WHO: Venli, Navani, Kaladin
WHEN: 1175.4.10.4—a.k.a. The Big Day, the day of the battle for Urithriu
WHERE: Urithiru
(Note: For the “when” notations, we are using this wonderful timeline provided by the folks at The 17th Shard.)
RECAP: Venli and her group wait for Oathgate transfer, but the Gates are not active because the operator is missing. With Timbre’s active encouragement, Venli takes her group and returns to the tower to see if she can finagle a way to use her writ from Raboniel to smuggle out Kaladin and/or his family.
Navani is devastated by the knowledge that her efforts to destroy Odium have handed Raboniel the ability to kill Radiant spren. Forcing herself to get up and begin painting prayers, she overhears Moash demand that he be allowed to kill her, a privilege which Raboniel says she will grant him after he renders Kaladin incapable of interfering with her plans. To that end, he is given a dagger containing anti-Stormlight. As Navani finishes burning her prayers, she realizes that Raboniel left the twin dagger where she dropped it after killing Essu, still containing a small charge of anti-Voidlight.
Kaladin marches determinedly toward what he expects to be his final conflict, trying to at least look like the legend everyone believes in. As he passes the Breakaway, he feels Sylphrena’s presence nearby. Reunited, determined to do what needs to be done, they enter the atrium, where the Pursuer awaits them near the Radiant infirmary.
Chapter Chat: Direction
VENLI
Venl’s group of fifteen friends huddled behind her, holding their supplies—hopefully appearing to be merely another batch of workers given a chance to return to Kholinar for a break. …
She had to find out if her mother was still alive.
Buy the Book
The Lost Metal
A: Venli is determinedly pointed toward the Shattered Plains and the land to the east, to find the listener group there. Even as she worries about just how far the writ can be stretched, she considers various options and their ramifications. What astonishes me is that she’s certain that Raboniel is manipulating her into searching for the listeners, and that still doesn’t deter her. Granted, I can’t quite decide what catastrophe for the “children of traitors” Raboniel could achieve by sending Venli that she couldn’t do better by just sending some Heavenly Ones and a bunch of stormforms… but I do not trust Raboniel to just be doing Venli a favor. Her plans always have layers and contingencies. (We’ll probably never know, unless we get a WoB on the subject. So far, Sanderson has refused to answer questions about Raboniel’s motive in this situation.)
P: I agree that it seems that Raboniel is pushing Venli in the direction of the rest of the listeners, though I can’t fathom why she would do that. But Venli just can’t care about that at the moment. She’s so caught up in the possibility of finding her mother alive, that nearly everything else is driven from her mind.
“Are you disappointed in me?” Venli whispered to Conceit. “For leaving Rlain and the humans?”
Timbre pulsed. Yes, she was. …
“He’ll get all those Radiants killed. Besides, you think I’d be any help to them?”
Timbre pulsed. Venli was doing well. Learning. She could help.
If I weren’t a coward, Venli thought.
A: You kinda have to feel sorry for her. She has proven herself a coward and has repeatedly run away under pressure, so despite the occasional flash of courage, she’s convinced that she’s absolutely weak and despicable. That doesn’t stop her from trying to save her own skin, or pursue her own ends, though; she just acknowledges that she’s selfish and useless, and proceeds. I find her baffling as a character, sometimes.
P: She’s definitely baffling. She has so much self-loathing, which is understandable, as despicable as she’s been. But the idea she has below, to get Kaladin and his family out using Raboniel’s writ, is selfless and commendable. Though I can’t help but wonder if she only wants to try that in order to attain the next Ideal.
A: Well, that’s certainly a possibility. She does want that next level, even while being convinced that she doesn’t deserve it. She’s a complex person.
Timbre pulsed. Venli had saved her. Venli had saved Lift.
“Yes, but I had to be coaxed into both,” Venli said. “I’m not a hero. I’m an accident.”
Timbre was firm. Some people charged toward the goal, running for all they had. Others stumbled. But it wasn’t the speed that mattered.
It was the direction they were going.
A: It’s interesting that this exchange happens right after Venli overrules the singers who organize the Oathgate transfers, insisting that everyone waiting in line get back inside the tower before the highstorm hits. Without even thinking about it, she acted in the interest of safety for a crowd of random singers. As a side effect of that decision, she’s again going in the right direction—back into Urithriu—in spite of herself.
All that said, there’s a deep and profound statement here: It wasn’t the speed that mattered, it was the direction they were going. I love that.
P: That is a beautiful sentiment. And I was proud of her for looking out for all of the singers awaiting an Oathgate transfer.
“What if I offered to use this writ to smuggle Stormblessed or his family out of Urithiru?”
A: I don’t believe for a skinny minute that they’d accept the offer had she managed to make it, but the thought is pretty generous for Venli! What’s really needed is a way to rescue the Radiants, of course, but she’s probably correct that she’d never succeed in using the writ that way.
P: Yeah… maaaybe she could get his family out if she had the chance but no way could she get Kaladin out.
A: Hardly! Or any of the other Radiants, now that Raboniel has the means to actually destroy spren. She’s decided that the best way to defeat the humans is to make sure there can’t be any more Radiants, and the best way to do that is make sure there aren’t any more Radiant spren. She wouldn’t let a single one escape if she could stop it.
Venli started toward the atrium, hoping she’d be quick enough to stop Rlain from trying his desperate plan. She didn’t know for certain if he’d take her offer. But this was the direction she should be moving.
A: Yay Venli! She’s so right, this time.
P: Finally she’s certain of something she’s doing. It’s good to see.
NAVANI
They hadn’t taken her to her rooms above. They hadn’t brought her meals. They’d simply left her alone.
To contemplate her utter failure.
A: Ai. It’s hard to know what to say here. She’s failed before, then moved on and tried to do something about her failure. This time… what is there to do? It seemed to make so much sense to try to find anti-Voidlight to counter Odium, but all she’d really accomplished was to give Raboniel the means to destroy the Radiants and all their spren.
P: There seems to be nothing for her to do. She didn’t intend to create a weapon that would kill spren, she was looking for a way to defeat Odium. But that doesn’t undo what she actually did. I feel for her so strongly here.
A: Oh for sure. She’s right to feel responsible, in some sense, but at the same time… she just doesn’t have the capacity to imagine the lengths to which someone like Raboniel will go. I… can’t really find that to be a bad thing. The mind should boggle at some kinds of evil.
She had spent the hours listening to the Fused in the hallway playing notes on metal plates and demanding new ones—until one final sound had echoed against the stone hallways. A chilling, awful sound that was wrong in all the right ways.
A: So quickly… There wasn’t really a lot left to do, admittedly. Navani had done the hard part of discovery; with her notes to work from, all they had to do was apply it in a different direction.
P: She definitely landed the way for them, didn’t she? Damn precise note taking!
What had taken Navani days, the Fused replicated in hours. … If she’d been a scholar, she’d have understood the implications of her work.
A: Gah. Once again, she refuses to accept that she is, in fact, a brilliant scholar—because she failed to read the future. I mean… well, sure, it seems obvious after the fact. Once she figured out how it worked, it’s clear that it would work just as easily for Stormlight as Voidlight, and of course Raboniel has the resources to make that happen very quickly. But it did require amazing scholarship along with days of work to figure it out in the first place, and the fact that her notes were so clear that it could be replicated quickly is further proof.
And, of course, we can look at our own history to see how often the scientists create wonderful things, only to have politicians and scoundrels turn their discoveries to destructive use.
P: I wonder if she’ll ever accept that she’s a scholar.
She found ink and paper in the wreckage of the room, then knelt and began to paint prayers. … Who did she think was listening? …
I have to hope that someone, somewhere, is listening. That someone has a plan. That it all matters somehow. …
Someone had known anti-Voidlight was possible.
Someone had known Navani would create it first.
Someone had seen all this, planned for it, and put her here. She had to believe that. She had to believe, therefore, that there was a way out.
A: Well, this could get very deep and philosophical, and I’m not sure I have the spoons for it today. Let me just say that IRL, I fully agree with Navani. In the Cosmere, I’m less certain. Sanderson’s gods (the Shards, anyway) are severely limited. Some of them know it, some of them don’t admit it. In any case, I’ve found them all… less than satisfactory. (That’s a huge discussion to be had regarding the end of The Lost Metal, but not here.) Maybe I’ll get into that discussion in the comments, because I still hope that Adonalsium/the God Beyond is a real Almighty who is directing her path.
Worth noting, someone else had already created anti-Stormlight, and quite possibly anti-Voidlight; we don’t know for sure what all Gavilar had on the desk that day. That doesn’t take away anything from Navani’s scholarship, though it did give her an advantage over Raboniel in having certain knowledge that it was possible. I’m just a little surprised at the inclusion of “first” in her thoughts.
In any case, Navani is feeling a desperate need for direction, as shown in her prayers. She’s going to get it soon, but before that things will get worse, because someone else has a desired direction that involves her death.
P: She definitely wasn’t the first, but she did do it from scratch, so to speak. Even with the knowledge that it could be done somehow, it was a remarkable process and remarkable discovery.
A: Absolutely! She’s amazing, and she is a true scientist whatever she thinks. She’s got that mix of understanding and intuition that leads to incredible breakthroughs.
“The best way to distract the Bondsmith is to kill his wife.”
A: Honestly, I don’t have the energy to deal with how much I loathe Moash in this chapter, so I won’t be doing many quotations. For some reason, he’s still determined to kill as many Kholins as he can get his hands on, despite the fact that he’s already killed the only two men who were, directly and indirectly, involved in his grandparents’ death. (This is why the ancient injunction was put in place: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc.—not to make sure the punishment was adequate, but to prevent escalation. Moash apparently doesn’t buy that standard.)
P: To quote the Grinch: “Hate, hate, double hate… loathe entirely.” That’s how I feel about Moash, in general. He just increases that loathing a hundredfold from here on out.
“We make this a covenant, Fused: I ruin Stormblessed, leave him unable to interfere, and you deliver me the queen. Accepted?”
A: Foul man. I’ve run out of things to call him (that I’m willing to put in print, anyway). I think this was the point where I decided the worst possible thing I could call him was his own name, and if you ever catch me calling someone a Moash, you’ll know how much I despise them.
P: He’s been working so hard to destroy Kaladin. He really thinks he can do it, and that Kaladin will kill himself in his misery. LOATHE.
Please. Tell me what to do. Show me something. Let me know you’re there.
As the last prayer drifted toward the Tranquiline Halls, she sat back on her heels … she caught sight of something glittering amid the wreckage of her desk.
A: Ask and you shall receive? That’s Earth scripture, but it seems to be true for Navani—and not for the first time, as we all remember from the Prologue…
P: It is eerie, how she spots the dagger as soon as she finishes burning her prayers.
A: I think this is Sanderson hinting to us that yes, there is someone listening and acting in response to her prayers. Who that someone is… dunno. And if you asked him flat out, I’m betting he’d refuse to answer and say something about leaving that to “reader interpretation.”
A precious, priceless weapon, and the Fused had discarded it. … For there, glimmering violet-black in the gemstone, was a soft glow. Not completely used up in the previous killing.
A small charge of anti-Voidlight.
A: And there’s Navani’s direction. She doesn’t know quite what direction it is, yet, but she has her sign, and reason to feel that someone is listening, and answering.
P: This bit elicited a lot of feelings in me. Satisfaction. Wonder. Hope. To name a few.
KALADIN
A certain momentum pushed him forward. As if his next actions were Soulcast into stone, already unchangeable. A mountain seemed to fill in behind him, blocking his retreat.
Forward. Only forward.
A: And there’s Kaladin’s direction. Forward, knowing he’s going into a trap. The Pursuer is waiting for him, between him and the last node protecting the Sibling.
P: And he’s so stalwart and determined. Despite his mental state, he will do what needs to be done. Bless you, Stormblessed.
The Pursuer wanted him? Well, he would have Kaladin, presented as he had always been seen. Dressed in his uniform, striding to the fight, his head high.
A: Well, there’s an inspiring picture—especially given what we know of his mental state. There’s a lot more about that—many humans wearing the painted shash glyphs, though he feels certain that this is his final Bridge Four moment; showing them the strength of Highmarshal Stormblessed though he knows he cannot measure up to the legend. It’s heartbreaking, really. With his “one way or another, he had to move on” from Bridge Four, I can’t help getting the feeling that he fully believes he’s at the end, that he expects to die in this battle and is just hoping he can do enough before that happens.
P: I also get the feeling that he thinks he may not survive this battle with the Pursuer. Brandon’s words certainly paint a striking scene here. Kaladin is truly inspiring here, as you say, Alice.
As Kaladin drew near to the Breakaway … he finally felt her. He stopped fast, looking that direction. … he stared intently and raised his right hand in the direction of the market.
Syl, he thought. I’m here. Find me.
A line of light, barely visible, bounced around in the distance. It turned and spun toward him, picking up speed—its path growing straighter. She grew brighter, and awareness of her blossomed in his mind. They were not whole, either one, without the other.
A: Aaaahhhh. In the midst of all the desperation and gloom, this is a lovely moment. Finally. They’re finally together again. Admittedly, neither one is anywhere close to “all right” at this point, but at least they’re together. It’s been far, far too long.
P: Oh, my heart. Is so good to have Syl back, even if she’s a bit wobbly.
“But the enemy, Syl… they’re going to execute the Radiants. And they might have my parents.”
She peered up at him. Then her shape fuzzed, and she was instantly in a uniform like his, colored Kholn blue.
A: Direction. Unlike Venli, who’s been all over the place and is only going this direction now because her escape was thwarted by Moash going AWOL, or Navani, who inadvertently made progress to a place she never wanted to be and is now trapped in her rooms hoping for some way to use a dagger, Kaladin has essentially been pointed this direction since the first time he killed the Pursuer in Hearthstone. Maybe before, even. His direction has always been to protect those who needed him, and there are a whole lot of people who need him very badly right now.
P: He truly loves the Windrunner Ideals, doesn’t he. Man, my feels are going to be all over the place from here on out.
A: Oh, ain’t that just the truth.
Highstorm coming, she said in his head.
Of course there was. It was that kind of day.
A: I’m baffled as to why he sounds like this is a bad thing. He draws so much energy from the highstorms, it seems like he should be happy to hear about it. Then again, since he can’t fly, maybe it’s discouraging? I don’t get it. But in any case, we’re all going to be extremely grateful for this highstorm—including the fact that it’s going to reach most of the way up the tower, and give Dalinar access to him while he’s still a long way from the ground.
People in the atrium began to scatter as they saw him, accompanied by anticipationspren. As the place emptied, he picked out a hulking figure standing in the dead center of the chamber, blocking the way to the room on the other side—the infirmary.
A: Final direction set. The Pursuer stands between Kaladin and the people he’s sworn to protect: the Radiants and his family. Bad choice on the part of the Pursuer, if you know what I mean.
P: Bad, bad choice. *giggles in anticipation*
A: ::smirk::
Singers/Fused
Raboniel was certain the human kingdoms knew of the occupation by now, and so had authorized the Oathgates to be opened more frequently, allowing singer troops and servants occupying the tower to rotate out.
A: Huh. It occurs to me that there’s really nothing to stop the humans (Dalinar and co.) from making use of the gates in, say, Azir, Narak, and Thaylen City to bring an entire army through other Oathgate platforms. If they had it staged right, they could bring thousands through those three gates at once, with more lined up right behind them. Of course, they’d have to fight without Radiants or (probably?) Shardbearers, but it could be done. But they don’t know that. More on this below.
P: Raboniel is done hiding the fact of the tower’s occupation from Dalinar and his scouts. She has no you-know-whats to give.
A: I’m not convinced she ever had any. It was just easier to do what she wanted without their attempts at interference.
“The human who works the Oathgates for us has run off.”
“No one else has a living Blade, which is needed to operate the fabrial now. … If you could find the one they call Vyre, and ask when he will return…”
A: Well, that answers a question I’d been wondering about! They apparently had not, in fact, figured out how to make the Oathgates run on Voidlight. They still need a Stormlight-powered living Blade, and in the absence of living Shardblades (made impossible by the inverted protections even if they brought in a Skybreaker), they’ve had Moash with Jezrien’s Honorblade working as a mule. LOL. A unique and special mule, of course, but he’s basically spent the last weeks doing nothing but moving groups and materiel back and forth through the Oathgate(s). I find this amusing, mostly because I hope he felt like a mule.
A: As a side note, it means that Kaladin’s expedition (in chapters 55 and 58) to find out how they were powering the fabrials with Voidlight was more effective for having to settle for the spanreeds instead of getting to the Oathgates. There, he’d just have found Moash.
She watched them, expecting fear, perhaps condemnation. This would jeopardize their safety.
Instead, as a group, they hummed to Considerataion.
A: I’ll admit, I agreed with her. I was surprised that the whole group went along with the idea of getting Kaladin and his family out. As one says, it would be nice to have a Windrunner on their side, but I can’t help wondering if they’re influenced by the time they spent working with Lirin and Hesina. It was their first opportunity to see humans as something other than slave-masters or enemies, after all.
P: I was frankly surprised that they were all on board with it. You’re almost certainly right that they see humans differently. At least, they might see Kaladin’s family differently.
Oaths Spoken, Powers Awakened
“What if we got you a different host? A singer who cares, like Rlain.”
A: Hey, Venli makes an attempt to be magnanimous: She offers Timbre the possibility that they could find her a different, better host, though I’m not entirely sure if she’s thinking of one of the listeners she hopes to find, or one of her current group of would-be runaways. My guess is the latter, given that she says “singer” instead of “listener,” but I’m not sure.
P: It surprised me that she referred to Rlain as a singer. Because he’s not.
A: True, true. Maybe she just meant find a singer who cares as much as the listener does? Because I don’t think she’s mentally blurred any line between the singers and the listeners.
“What do you mean?” Venli demanded. “You can’t want me. I’m an accident. A mistake.”
Another pulse.
“Mistakes can’t be wonderful, Timbre. That’s what defines them as mistakes.”
She pulsed, more confident. How could she be more confident with each complaint? Stupid spren.
A: LOL. I’m really not quite sure what’s driving Timbre’s confidence either, but I do know it’s going to pay off pretty soon.
P: Somehow, Timbre sees Venli’s potential. It’s good to see her trying to reassure Venli here.
A: It really is. Timbre is such a treasure. The fact that she somehow manages to be absolutely truthful and at the same time so incredibly encouraging is, I think, one of the things that gives me hope for Venli’s eventual progress.
Humans
If there was a God, if the Almighty was still out there somewhere, had he created Moash? Why? Why bring such a thing into the world?
A: Indeed.
P: He wasn’t always a hateful, vengeance-driven man. He let his hate poison him.
A: As it inevitably does.
Cosmere Connections
“That dagger can destroy his spren. Spread that sand, and it will turn faintly white when an invisible spren flies overhead. Use it to locate his honorspren, then strike at it, depriving him of power.”
A: This is so brutal it makes me want to cry. I know, war is war and all that, but… that’s awful. We know now how he’s going to use it, and it hurts to think about. Black sand from Taldain, which will turn white in the proximity of a highly invested spren like Sylphrena (or Phendorana). A dagger with a raysium strip to transmit anti-Stormlight down the blade from the stone in the pommel. A spren and a Radiant, both dead at the hand of one brutal, disgusting, hate-driven Moash.
P: I have nothing to add here but sheer disgust.
We’ll be leaving further speculation and discussion to you in the comments, and hope to join you there. We’re off for Christmas break the next two weeks, so we wish you all a Merry Christmastide! (Or the appropriate greeting for whatever holiday you celebrate, if Christmas isn’t it.) We’ll be back on January 5 with chapter 103, in which Kaladin keeps the Pursuer occupied while Teft and Lift begin their part of the job, but are interrupted by that foul Moash thing.
Alice is a former Sanderson beta reader who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. She’s profoundly grateful that her daughter chose a college within reasonable driving distance (well, 5-6 hours), allowing visits for things like phenomenal Christmas concerts.
Paige resides in New Mexico, of course. She sorely misses baseball. Links to her other writing are available in her profile.
